The Magic Of Terry Pratchett According To Marc Burrows

How did your interest in Terry Pratchett begin?

I discovered Terry Pratchett when I was 12 years old. My parents had a friend down at the pub who had read The Colour of Magic and Guards! Guards! and knew instinctively that these books were right up my alley. So, they passed both books onto me, knowing my love for comedy and fantasy. I've always felt getting Pratchett books from a bloke down the pub is the ideal way to discover his work. After that, I went to my village library and read every single Pratchett book they had. Then, I found out you could order books from other libraries, and I was hooked—becoming a card-carrying, buy-it-on-the-day-it-comes-out, nerdy super fan.

What fascinates you most about his life and work?

The thing with Terry is that you can’t really separate his life from his work. They were the same thing. His life was stories, his stories were his life. I can think of no other author where the membrane that separates their life and work is so permeable. It’s barely there. There are people who put less of themselves into an autobiography than Terry put into books about wizards and dragons. Most footballers, for example.

Terry understood people and how they interact with each other, and how that affects the world around them like no other writer I can think of; he casually wrote about the meaning of life and made it look effortless, and he did it all with stupid puns about trifles and the word “phallusy”. No-one else does that.

Who should come and see The Magic of Terry Pratchett?

Pratchett fans, obviously. But it goes beyond that. I tried very hard to reach three different audiences: the die-hard Pratchett obsessive who knows the books and the in-jokes back to front, the casual fan who’s dipped into a few books here and there, and the utter newbie who’s been dragged along by their partner; I always say that you don’t have to know anything about Terry to enjoy the show, because I’m about to tell you about him. I think the show does really work for everyone. It can’t be impenetrable to the casual fan, or stating the blindingly obvious to the hardcore, and I think – more or less – we’ve pulled it off.

What do you hope audiences will take away from the show?

I hope all three of those groups I just mentioned take away a new appreciation for Terry’s writing. He was the most remarkable mind in English writing of the last hundred years. He could tell you the meaning of life and then break your heart and then make you snort with laughter in the same five pages, and I’ve tried to build the show around those principles.

I want everyone leaving to be desperate to go and find a Pratchett book and get stuck in. If I’ve done my job right, the Leeds branch of Waterstones is going to sell out of Discworld novels the day after the show.

What’s your favourite Pratchett book, and why?

It honestly changes on a daily basis. My go-to comfort listen is Witches Abroad, something about the mix of brilliant character writing, subversive storytelling and silliness makes it fresh every time. That said, I’d go to bat for Night Watch or Nation as the best of Terry’s books, both are so dark and so angry but also manage have a lightness of touch. What’s genuinely surprising, even after writing a book about him and a stand-up show and talking about Terry almost constantly for two years now, I still don’t get bored of his work. There are still new jokes to find. Still more to marvel at.

What's the very last thing you do before you step out on stage?

Re-tie my shoes, check my fly isn't gaping open and make sure my stomach isn't bulging out of my shirt.

5 SEPT Brewery Arts KENDALL
7 SEPT City Varieties LEEDS
8 SEPT Leadmill SHEFFIELD
3 OCT The Witham BARNARD CASTLE
17 OCT Arts Centre POCKLINGTON